Michael “Mex” Carey

Sports Information Director
Age: 42
Hometown: Troy, N.Y.
Time at Georgetown: 8 1/2 years

What drew you to your field?
My dream growing up had been to be the beat writer for the Boston Red Sox for the Boston Globe. I always wanted to write, I love to write, I still do, and over the course of going to college, I realized how competitive it was to get into the newspaper field. I stumbled on college athletics when I was a sophomore at St. Bonaventure and fell in love with it. I’ve been doing it ever since.

What drew you to Georgetown in particular?
I was drawn by the opportunity to be at a prestigious school, to work with a basketball program with such a rich history, and with an athletics program that dates back to 1789; there’s a tremendous history. I went from working in the greatest city in the world to working in the most powerful city in the world, and to be able to say that I’ve spent the better part of my professional career working in both New York City and in Washington, D.C., is pretty neat. Living and raising a family in this area is fantastic.

What is your favorite part of your job?
Hands down, working with student-athletes. For me, there’s nothing better or more rewarding than having an impact on a kid from the day they step in here as a freshman to the day they graduate as a senior.

What is the greatest challenge you face?
The greatest challenge is to adapt to the changing face of media and how media operates. We need to find ways to continue to publicize the efforts and accomplishments of our student-athletes.

What is it like to run communications for a program that attracts intense attention at both the local and national level?
You have to stay organized, and be able to communicate with coaches, and with your team —when I say “team,” I mean my staff. You know, these are the opportunities we have, how do we lay those out? They’re all great opportunities, there are some we won’t be able to meet, but we try to do it as best we can.

Are there any aspects of your position that the majority of people might not know about?
There’s a lot of work that goes into pregame and postgame. For a game at 12, I’m in the office by 8:30 in the morning and I’m probably not home until about six at night, so while the game is only two hours, there’s just so much that goes into it.

What’s the most heart-stopping moment you’ve experienced?
I think about the times I’ve been with teams that have gone to NCAA tournaments and have had great seasons and, in the postgame press conferences, you’ll see seniors up on the podium at their last opportunity to wear those uniforms. Jason Clarke and Henry Sims from two years ago come to mind. They were both so proud of what they had done, and there was so much sadness that they wouldn’t be playing together again.

How do you balance basketball with the other sports your department coordinates with?
We try to treat every sport equally. Obviously some sports get more attention than others — that’s the nature of the beast — but our people, we have six for twenty-nine sports, try to give each sport as much attention as we can so they each get the publicity and coverage they deserve. 

If you weren’t working in sports information, where would you see yourself?
I’ve never — and this is the honest truth — I’ve never even though about what I would be doing outside of sports, and I’ve never had a job outside of sports. I don’t actually know; I can’t imagine a life working outside of sports.

Where did the nickname “Mex” come from?
It was a nickname I was given when I was 10 years old and in fifth grade by my friend Kevin Johnson, and it has absolutely no significance whatsoever.

Interview by Alexander Brown